B. Describing Personal Qualities

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Spend some time finding the perfect words to describe these qualities. In a more advanced group this could be a dictionary or thesaurus exercise. Here is a short list if you need some to get you started: reliable, fair, kind, strong, funny, energetic, resourceful, friendly, imaginative, generous, honest, patient, cheerful, brave.

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imageFor some people this kind of self-assessment is hard to do. In mainstream Canadian culture, it is more acceptable for men than for women to "brag" about themselves; in some cultures it is simply not done. Depending on your group, you might ask people to talk about someone else in the group, so no one has to talk about themselves, or you might ask people to talk about how they try to behave in order to be a good role model for children, rather than asking them to say what they have done.

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If you photocopy the puzzles, several students can do each one.


1. Guided discussion

* Discuss the qualities you value. Some questions to consider:

  • What would you like people to report about you now or when you are gone?
  • What qualities are important to teach to children?

* Save this list; you will need to refer to it again later in the chapter.

2. Small group discussion

* Ask students, in small groups, to consider themselves as role models. Some questions to consider:

  • Who are you a role model for? Children, brothers, and sisters, community, other students?
  • What qualities do they see in you? (Refer to the list just made, and add to it if necessary.)
  • How do you model these characteristics? Can you describe what you do that shows patience or honesty, for example. Try to be really specific about what you do.

* Report some of this conversation back to the large group, and/or write about it.

3. Word-search puzzles

* Ask each student to make a word-search puzzle, using the qualities they admire for the words in the puzzle. They should start with a grid divided into about 10 squares each way, put in their words, running in any direction, then fill in the other squares with random letters. Each student could make one and then pass it to a partner to do.


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